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Holy Cannoli!

No full meal is complete without dessert! La Bella Romana Bakery provides many different types of dessert for any craving! A go-to dessert that will please every crowd is cannoli. Cannoli, the singular version is cannolo, originated in the south of Italy. Originally, it was only enjoyed during Carnevale celebrations, similar to Mardi Gras, that occur throughout the region right before Lent, a religious season. Carnevale was the time to dress up, have fun, and splurge. People only enjoyed cannoli on this day, but began craving them so much that cannoli became a year round staple in all of Italy and are now enjoyed all over the world!

Our homemade cannoli will transport you right to Italy! We use only the freshest and highest quality ingredients, we even make our own shells in house daily! We make our own dough, shape it, then fry it.

Once the shells are ready, they are filled with our homemade ricotta filling. The base of the filling is ricotta cheese, and it is sweetened to give the filling a perfectly creamy and decadent flavor. The crispy outside paired with the perfectly sweet filling makes it the ideal dessert.  A traditional cannolo is finished with green nuts garnished on each end, but we offer many different types of cannoli in different sizes. We have chocolate chip topping, chocolate dipped shells, mini cannoli, and even a party cannoli! Our party cannoli is one huge cannolo filled with 50 mini cannoli and it is the perfect addition to any party! This week, cannoli are 99 cents in our three day sale, so enjoy one today!

 

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It’s Football Season!

Fall is upon us! The pumpkins are ready to be carved, it’s time to go apple picking, and football is back! Most football fans, college or pro,  know that the season is full of ups and downs when rooting for your team. You never know what the outcome of a game is going to be, but you can always count on Caputo’s to make sure everyone is well fed on game day!

We offer the perfect foods for a game day party, tailgate, or for just lounging around and watching football all day! From guacamole to salsa to different dips to wraps, we’ve got all of your appetizers covered! We also have the perfect meals– wings, sandwiches, sausage, and more! Boneless and bone-in chicken wings. Plain, BBQ, teriyaki, or buffalo, the chicken wings are so juicy with the perfect amount of breading and sauce. 3ft American and Italian sub sandwiches. The American sub sandwich contains oven roasted turkey, polish ham, hard salami, and American cheese on a french baguette. The italian sub sandwich contains Volpi genoa salami, mortadella, mild capicola, and provolone on a french baguette. Another tailgate staple is sausage. Our homemade sausage is handcrafted using old world and traditional recipes in our own facilities. We carry a wide variety of sausage– rope, links, bulk, polish, barese, mild, and so much more!  Our sausage is made with trimmed, lean pork and house blend of spices and seasonings. Every bite is even more delicious and juicy than the last. Our sausage topped with our homemade La Bella Romana giardiniera is the perfect combo.

These items are sure to make any game day easy and relaxing while still eating good, quality meals. What’s evenbetter thandelicious food? Delicious food at a low price! This weekend we have you game day necessities on a 3 day sale! Check out this week’s ad to see the items featured in the sale!

 

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Check Out Caputo’s and Win!

 

The year-long 60th anniversary celebration continues at Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets. “The Angelo Caputo Family has been in business for 60 years,” said Giancarlo Presta, grandson of Angelo Caputo and General Manager of the company. “We wanted to show our appreciation to the people who made that possible, our customers, and have a little fun while doing it—not just for one day but throughout the year.”

And that’s exactly what we’ve done. During the summer months, Caputo’s hosted a series of all-you-can-eat Parking Lot Picnics featuring grilled burgers, hot dogs, and our famous Italian sausage, plus sides, drinks, and desserts. Now, as summer gives way to fall, each of our seven locations is hosting Check Out Caputo’s, an in-store game where the winning customers walk out with prizes in addition to their groceries.

Here’s how it works: Each store location will host Check Out Caputo’s for one day from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM. On the day of the event, our prize team will be set up at the front of the store with a bingo ball machine, a prize wheel and a table filled with prizes. Every 15 minutes, the prize team will be drawing a numbered ball to determine the “winning” checkout lane. All customers in the “winning” lane will be given a card that allows them to play the game over at the prize station after they finish checking out. Each card holder will receive a $5 Caputo’s gift card and be allowed to spin the wheel for a chance to win some great prizes.

The first game event was held on Saturday, September 8 at our Elmwood Park market.  Greeters were handing out complimentary shopping list pads to all customers as they entered the store. Winning customers were allowed to select their own prizes, which ranged from gadgets to small appliances. There were many smiles and even a few squeals of delight as the game continued. Several members of the Angelo Caputo family were on hand to greet the winners and personally thank them for being customers.

Occasionally an individual would walk up to the prize station and ask what they needed to do in order to play. Nobody knows in advance which lane number will be pulled, so winning is simply a matter of shopping at Caputo’s while the game is being played and being in the right place at the right time.

The Check Out Caputo’s game will be hosted for one day at each of the remaining store locations during the months of September and October. Here is the current schedule. We hope to see you there!

Hanover Park – September 15, 11 AM to 3 PM

Carol Stream – September 22, 11 AM to 3 PM

Bloomingdale – September 29, 11 AM to 3 PM

South Elgin – October 6, 11 AM to 3 PM

Naperville – October 20, 11 AM to 3 PM

Addison – October 27, 11 AM to 3 PM

 

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Melon Sense: How to Choose the Best Cantaloupe

Eating fresh cantaloupe during the growing season is a joy unto itself, especially if you know how to pick a good one. Here’s how to consistently ensure that the cantaloupes you select are ripe, sweet, and flavorful.

Appearance matters. This may seem obvious but always select cantaloupes that look good. Avoid obviously defective or damaged fruit. This includes any melon with a cracked rind, soft spots, bruises, or moldy patches.

Steer clear of stems. Melons easily detach from their stems when ripe. If you see a cantaloupe with a piece of stem still attached or with a torn rind where the stem was attached, that means it was taken from the vine too soon. And since they do not continue to ripen after being picked, a cantaloupe with its stem still attached should not be selected.

Go for the gold. The rind of a ripe cantaloupe should have a gold or orange tint with well-developed netting. If you see a lot of dark green and the net-like textured part appears to be rather thin, the cantaloupe is not ripe. Also examine the spot that shows where the melon was resting on the ground. A smooth, yellow patch means you’ve got a ripe melon.

Lightweights need not apply.  When comparing cantaloupes, pick them up. A good cantaloupe contains a fair amount of water and will thus feel heavy for its size. All other things being equal, go with the heavier fruit.

How does it feel? A healthy, ripe cantaloupe is neither rock-hard nor soft and squishy. The melon should be uniformly firm. There should be a slight indentation where the stem used to be, indicating that the melon came off the stem easily and that indentation should not be wet. The blossom end, which is opposite the stem end, should give slightly when pressed.

Smell the blossom end. A sweet, ripe cantaloupe smells pleasantly sweet, especially at the blossom end. A cantaloupe that has no sweet aroma should not be considered.

In addition to being delicious, cantaloupe is quite healthy. Thanks to the high water content, one cup only contains about 55 calories. Cantaloupe is a great source of vitamins A and C, potassium, beta-carotene, and fiber.

Now that you know what to look for, stop by any of Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets‘ seven store locations and get some delicious cantaloupe today!